Lewis County

LANGUAGE

The Census asks questions about language use at home to locate groups of people who speak a language other than English. Their isolation or integration into a primarily English speaking community can be determined by their ability to speak English proficiently.

Language Spoken at Home, 1990-2000

1990

2000

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Only English

12,119

99.21%

13,032

98.59%

Spanish

47

0.38%

130

0.98%

Other Indo-European*

41

0.34%

47

0.36%

Asian Language**

7

0.06%

0

0.00%

Other

2

0.02%

9

0.07%

Total Population Age 5+

12,216

100.00%

13,218

100.00%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000

Language Spoken at Home:

Number

Percent

Spanish

27

20.77%

Other Indo-European*

22

46.81%

Asian Language**

0

-

Other Language

0

0.00%

Total

49

0.37%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990

Language Spoken at Home:

Number

Percent

Spanish

25

53.19%

Other Indo-European*

2

4.88%

Asian Language**

7

100.00%

Other Language

0

-

Total

34

0.28%

* "Other Indo-European" excludes English and Spanish. "Indo-European" is not synonymous with "European." French, German, Hindi, and Persian are all classified as Indo-European. Hungarian, on the other hand, is lumped into "Other Language."

** "Asian Language" includes languages indigenous to Asia and Pacific islands areas that are not also Indo-European languages. Chinese, Japanese, Telugu, and Hawaiian are all classified here.

Also note that ability to speak English "very well" is based on the self-assessment of those responding to Census questions, not on a test of language ability.